Korean Journal of Materials Research ISSN:1225-0562(Print) 2287-7258(Online) 한국재료학회지

Bullets flying with a light from the back are called “tracers”. Tracers are ignited by the combustion gas of the propellant and emit bright light that allows the shooter to visually trace the flight path. Therefore, tracers mark the firing point for allies to assist shooters to hit target quickly and accurately. Conventional tracers are constructed with a mixture of an oxidizing agent, raw metal, and organic fuel. Upon ignition, the inside of the gun can be easily contaminated by the by-products, which can lead to firearm failure during long-term shooting. Moreover, there is a fire risk such as forest fires due to residual flames at impact site. Therefore, it is necessary to develop non-combustion type luminous material; however, this material must still use the heat generated from the propellant, so-called “thermoluminescence (TL)”. This study aims to compare the TL emission of Dy³⁺, La³⁺ and Ho³⁺ doped MgB₄O₇ phosphors prepared by solid state reaction. The crystal structures of samples were determined by X-ray diffraction and matched with the standard pattern of MgB₄O₇. Luminescence of various doses (200 ~ 15,000 Gy) of gamma irradiated Dy³⁺, La³⁺ and Ho³⁺ (at different concentrations of 5, 10, 15 and 20 %) doped MgB₄O₇ were recorded using a luminance/color meter. The intensity of TL yellowish (CIE x = 0.401 ~ 0.486, y = 0.410 ~ 0.488) emission became stronger as the temperature increased and the total gamma-ray dose increased.